Level up your design skills 🚀

Daniel Walter Scott

BYOL Founder and Chief Instructor

Figma | Illustrator | Premiere Pro | Lightroom

I discovered the world of design as an art student when I stumbled upon a lab full of green & blue iMac G3’s. My initial curiosity around using the computer to create ‘art’ developed into a full-blown passion, eventually leading me to become a digital designer and founder of Bring Your Own Laptop.

Sharing and teaching are a huge part of who I am. As a certified Adobe instructor, I've had the honor of winning multiple Adobe teaching awards at their annual MAX conference. I see Bring Your Own Laptop as the supportive community I wished for when I was first starting out and intimidated by design. Through teaching, I hope to bring others along for the ride and empower my students to bring their stories, labors of love, and art into the world.

True to my Kiwi roots, I've lived in many places, and currently, I reside in Ireland with my wife and kids.

Robin Ruud

Instructor, 3D Designer & Animator

Blender | 3D Design

I am a 3D Designer and Animator and my mission is to help level up the Blender community from hobbyists to professionals.

I first got into 3D design through a required course at college. It wasn’t love at first sight, but the challenge pulled me in - I’m stubborn like that! What started as a reluctant introduction became a deep and lasting creative focus.

My background is in design and marketing, and I’ve always been drawn to projects that blend design, 3D and motion - things like product renders, poster artwork, and brand animations. Blender became my go-to tool, and it’s now at the heart of everything I make.

These days, I share what I’ve learned on YouTube as Robin Squares, where I create Blender tutorials for designers, animators, and curious creatives. I live in Norway, where I split my time between teaching, making, and writing.

Brandon Baldovin

Instructor, Editor & Creative Engineer

DaVinci Resolve | Video Editing

I am a video editor, content strategist, and educator, and my mission is to help creators understand not just how to edit, but why video editing works.

I hold a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and have taught at the college level as an engineering instructor. Over the past three years, I’ve also taught video editing to beginner and intermediate creators, helping them build a stronger foundation and how to edit with more intention.

My engineer’s mindset strongly influences how I approach creative problem-solving. I focus on breaking down complex editing concepts into clear, practical techniques that creators can confidently apply. Over the past five years, my work has centred on visual storytelling, with a deep emphasis on DaVinci Resolve.

I was born and raised on California’s Central Coast, and I create educational resources designed to help others create more.

Nathan Brown

Instructor, Artist & Illustrator

Procreate | Digital Art

I'm an artist and illustrator with over 25 years of experience working across both traditional and digital media.

I draw on my background in painting and drawing to create digital brushes, textures, and tutorials that capture the authentic look and feel of real art materials. My goal is to make digital painting feel natural and approachable, without losing the tactile qualities that make traditional art so rewarding.

I help beginner and intermediate artists build confidence, develop their own creative process, and discover a style that genuinely feels like theirs.

Alongside teaching, I continue to work on my own illustration projects - often inspired by the golden age of movie posters from the 70s and 80s. Whether I'm creating tools for other artists or working on a large-scale piece, it always comes back to the same thing: sharing the joy of making art and helping others experience that for themselves.

I'm based in Texas, where I split my time between teaching, creating, and developing new resources for artists.